Iraq Summons UK Charge D'affaires over Ambassador's Remarks

Iraqi security forces secure Palestine Street the day after some 30 people attacked two restaurants, including the American KFC, in Baghdad on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
Iraqi security forces secure Palestine Street the day after some 30 people attacked two restaurants, including the American KFC, in Baghdad on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Iraq Summons UK Charge D'affaires over Ambassador's Remarks

Iraqi security forces secure Palestine Street the day after some 30 people attacked two restaurants, including the American KFC, in Baghdad on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
Iraqi security forces secure Palestine Street the day after some 30 people attacked two restaurants, including the American KFC, in Baghdad on June 4, 2024. (AFP)

Iraq has summoned Britain's chargé d'affaires over remarks made by the British Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hitchcock about the country's security and political issues, the country's state news agency reported on Sunday.
The ambassador's remarks reflect "a bleak image of Iraq, its government and components", it added.



Hamas Official Dismisses 'Illusion' that Gaza Truce Nearer

Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
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Hamas Official Dismisses 'Illusion' that Gaza Truce Nearer

Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS

A senior Hamas official on Saturday dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce is nearer after negotiations in Qatar.

"To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion," Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. "We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats."

He was responding to Biden's comment on Friday that "We are closer than we have ever been."

Biden spoke after two days of talks in Qatar where Washington tried to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas. The two sides have been at war for more than 10 months in the Gaza Strip.

Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has proven unfounded.